Season's end begins for Lady Ospreys

Thursday, February 26

Nashville, Tenn.

6 p.m.

University of North Florida

Belmont University

Junior Arlande Cherizol averaged 10.3 points and 10.3 rebounds last week

2/25/2009 11:40:56 AM | Women's Basketball

UNF tips off its final weekend at Belmont Thursday at 6 p.m. ET

By: Adam Jonson, UNF Athletics

Game Notes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One final road trip will mark the end of the season for the University of North Florida women's basketball team. The Nashville, Tenn. swing begins for the Lady Ospreys when they go up against Belmont at 6 p.m. (ET) on Thursday in an attempt to secure their second road win of the season.

UNF (7-20, 6-12 Atlantic Sun Conference) closed its home slate with a 60-56 overtime win against Stetson on Saturday. The Lady Ospreys won four of their final five at UNF Arena but have dropped four in a row on the road after notching their only road win of the season at Stetson on Jan. 22.

Belmont (16-11, 11-7) dealt UNF its first A-Sun loss of the season on Dec. 6 at UNF Arena. The Lady Ospreys couldn't find their offensive stroke and scored only 11 first-half points to trail by 21 at the break. After shooting 16 percent in the first 20 minutes, UNF hit .360 in the second half but could not climb out of the hole and fell 60-34, which marked the lowest offensive output of the season to date for UNF.

The Bruins have dropped three straight after putting together a three-game winning streak. Belmont is 9-3 at home this season and sports the league's best field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a .356 shooting percentage. Amber Rockwell leads the squad with 14.9 points per game, which is third in the conference, while Jessica Bobbitt ranks second in the A-Sun with her team-best 8.5 rebounds per game.

If the season ended today and no teams were ineligible for postseason play due to NCAA reclassification rules, Belmont would enter the A-Sun Tournament as the fourth seed and the Lady Ospreys would make an appearance as the eighth seed. With league-leading Florida Gulf Coast ineligible like UNF (Kennesaw State and USC Upstate also ineligible), East Tennessee State has wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the tournament and Belmont can finish as high as the second seed or as low as the fifth seed.

When: Thursday, Feb. 26 – 6 p.m. ET

Where: Nashville, Tenn. (Curb Event Center)

Admission: Adult – $8

ASUN.TV: Click here (coverage begins at 5:45 p.m.)

Live Stats: Click here (begins at 6 p.m.)

UNF's Record: 7-20, 6-12 A-Sun

Belmont's Record: 16-11, 11-7 A-Sun

Series: Belmont leads, 4-2

Last Meeting: Dec. 6, 2008 at UNF Arena (Belmont won, 60-34)

Who's Hot: Cherizol notched two double-doubles in the past week – the first and second of her career. She went for 10 points and 14 boards at Jacksonville before scoring 15 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in UNF's home finale win against Stetson. She scored five of the Lady Ospreys' eight overtime points in the contest.

Quoting Coach Tappmeyer: “We must do a better job of defending Belmont's perimeter shooters this time around. We are a much better team now than we were then, but so are they. They are a very capable inside and out team that is very dangerous at home. We need to keep working hard and trying to get that one percent better each day. The girls are showing a lot of trust in each other on the floor and playing with a lot of confidence.”

Gameday Notables: UNF is in its final season of the four-year transition into NCAA Division I … the Lady Ospreys are 1-2 all-time when playing on Feb. 26 … this season, the Lady Ospreys are 5-1 when reaching the 60-point mark … UNF is 1-2 all-time at Belmont … Senior Jennifer Bowen is one of two players in program history to sink five 3-pointers on three different occasions (Leigh Gaudy) … the Lady Ospreys are coming off their best finish since entering the transitional period, finishing with a 13-16 overall record and 8-8 A-Sun record in 2007-08 … Bowen and senior Jennifer Guldager have been with the program through every season of the reclassification into NCAA Division I.